Safety razor



Nov. 29, 1938. P. HOTSON ET AL 2,138,063

SAFETY RAZOR Filed March 1, 1955 9 12 '1 5 7 2 9 IO 9 K) as I 2 WM 6 w o I8 4 .rg f 11H"... I I

JHIII wam .T'1 14 E 9 PMW Patented Nov. 29, 1938 SAFETY RAZOR Paul Hotson, Acme, Alberta, Canada, and John H. Hotson, Woodside, Long Island, N. Y.; Arthur Reid Hotson, executor of said Paul Hotson, deceased Application March 1, 1935, Serial No. 8,790

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to improvements in safety razors.

One object of our invention is to provide simple means embodied in the blade itself for securing a wider degree of clearance between the guard and the blade edge, in razors having cap and guard of the type of the old Gillette razor and many similar ones in general use.

Another object is to provide greater rigidity and resistance to cracking of the blades.

Another object is to provide a new means of holding cap, blade and guard in perfect alignment and registration with each other when the razor is tightened for shaving.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description together with the accompanying drawing, where- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a razor of the old Gillette type containing a blade exhibiting a feature of our invention. a

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a razor of the present model of wide-clearance Gillette razor, showing the same blade.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the under or concave side of the cap exhibited in plan view in Fig. 6, showing features of our invention.

Fig. 4 is a face view of the upper or convex side of a guard, showing features of our invention.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the guard shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the end of the cap shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. '7 is a face view of a razor blade showing a modification of our invention.

Fig. 8 is a face view of the under side of blade shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 9 is a face view of a blade showing a modification.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the blade shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a cap, blade and guard in closed position ready for use, showing details of our invention.

Fig. 12 is a face view of the under side of blade shown in Fig. 13, showing details of our invention.

Fig. 13 is an end view of blade shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of a cap showing a modification of our invention.

Referring to Figs. 1, 8 and 10, we provide a ridge 1 on one side and a corresponding groove l3 (Fig. 10) on the other side of the blade l9, preferably about a quarter inch inwards from the cutting edge 20, by a crimp in the metal. In Fig. 1 this blade is shown with the ridge l next to the guard 18. This shows a razor of the type of the old Gillette razor, which is still in use in great numbers and sold by numerous makers. When the cap I! and the guard 18 are tightened together preparatory to shaving, as shown in Fig. 1, a space or clearance is secured by the interposition of the ridge l between the blade 19 and the guard 18, similar to the space 26 shown in Fig. 2, where the present wide-clearance Gillette razor is shown.

The ridge I may be so located that when the blade 19 is placed in the present wide-clearance Gillette razor, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the ridge l clears the shoulder 2 of the guard 24, so as not to increase the clearance 26 which is already provided by the manufacturer, as shown. The ridge I is useful in strengthening the section 21 of the blade, which is left unsupported on the guard side in this form of razor guard.

This form of our ridged blade is therefore adapted to be used in either narrow-clearance or wide-clearance razors of the common cap and guard type.

In Fig. 7 we show a variation of this part of our invention. Instead of a ridge, we may use one or more small bosses 3, preferably pressed up out of the metal of the blade, for the purpose of securing wider clearance.

Although we prefer a pressing or contraction of the metal to form the protuberance, we do not limit ourselves to such, but may cut the metal and strike up a flange from the body of the blade, or we may press a projecting pin into a small hole in the blade, or use other methods to obtain the protuberance desired.

Our preferred form, however, is a ridge running lengthwise of the entire blade near the edge.

It is a fact well known to those who have used highly hardened and therefore brittle blades that, while such blades generally give a keener shave and keep their edges longer than softer or more pliable blades, yet they have the-serious defect that they frequently crack and fly apart during handling, or pressure during drying on a towel, or even when they are being bent over the guard of the razor and into position for shaving, more especially in winter time when they are in a chilled condition.

To remedy this defect and provide means whereby such a highly hardened blade may be guarded against such cracking, we make corrugations I (Fig. 12) running lengthwise of the blade 2| and between the longitudinal center line of the blade and each cutting edge, for the purpose of strengthening the blade, and incidentally the edge, against crosswise cracking.

We also provide a bending or bowing of the blade crosswise to form a shallow arc (Fig. 13), which may correspond substantially to the inner curve of the razor cap in common use, of the type as illustrated in Figs. .1, 2, 6, 11, so that the blade will need to be subjected to but a trifling pressure, or none at all, in order to bring it into final shape for shaving. And to afford greater strength in its curved position, we provide corrugations. or. ridges 4 (Figs. 12, 13) in the metal running crosswise of the blade and preferably near the ends thereof. Fig. 12 is a View of Fig; 13, looked at from the under side of Fig. 13'.

The said corrugations are made preferably with the ridges or embossments l, 4 on the concaveside of the blade, or the side next to the guard.

To utilize more fully, for another purpose, the

features of? our: construction of blade, we prefer to: make. adaptations in the, cap and guard, by providing protuberances 5, 6 onthe concave surface of the cap (Figs. 3:, 6) to fit into'thesockets 13' on the adjacent side ofthe blade (see Fig-1'1) and by. providing sockets 'l',,8- on the convex sur face' ofrthe guard (Figs. 4, 5) to'receive the protuberances l', 4 on; thesideof the blade adjacent to? the-guard.

lllhis; provides a new means of positively aligning or. registering the blade with cap and guard, holding all three in an unvarying position with respect to" each; other whenzthe cap and guard have b'een'tightened' on the blade ready for sha-ving, and this independently of the posts 9, It)

(Figs. 3, 6), which are usually found affixed to the.caps in common-use this type of razor,.the middle one of? which; 9. (see Figs. 6, 14-), has a screw thread. to engagewith the female screw in the handle, the turning'of the handle tightening cap and guard together. When these posts 9, it are-made to fit closely in: the central apertures in the blade (as. ,Fig. 12.), it is diflicultto-set the blade down. over the posts; because the blade, if not put on very carefully and evenly, is apt to. get stuck, especially on the thread of the middle. post 9, and in this predicament; when. screw pressure by the. turning of the handle is put upon the blade, it is apt to crack the blade. Moreover, when the posts fit closely inrthe central. apertures of the blade; it is difficult also to remove the blade from the cap, as=the edges of the apertures in theb'l'adet'end to stick on the posts, and particularly onthe screw thread of the middle post 9; so-that, difficulty is experienced from the blade getting stuck or caught; and as the sharp edges of the blades are thus liable tocut the hand, the manuf'acturersusually make the openings in the blade large enough'to fit looselyon the posts.

The result is that the blade does not register uniformly in the same spot on the guard or on the cap; sometimes sticking out unduly at one point, sometimes at another, thus impairing the evenness and accuracy of the shaving, causing scraping off of the cuticle in spots, and sometimes occasioning cutting of the face. This is more objectionable when the blade and cap are out of alignment than when the blade and guard are out of alignment.

Our device entirely obviates this difliculty. The centralapertures can be made comfortably large, so that the blade can be slipped on and off the posts-with perfect ease, and yet, by the use of our protuberance and socket means, thevarious parts can be so accurately adapted to-each other that,

when the cap and guard are tightened on the blade, the various protuberances will set into the corresponding sockets, and all three parts be held compact together, in perfect and uniform alignment and registration.

While we show in Figs. 3, 6, 11, 12 and 13 a ridged protuberance and corresponding grooved socket, yet in this part of'our invention we desire to include any form of protuberance and corresponding socket adapted to receive the protuberance. The protuberance on the cap may be a boss like 3 (Fig. 7), with corresponding socket in the blade to receive it, or the protuberance on the blade may be, forexample, a tab cut out and struck up from the body of the metal of the blade adapted to engage a corresponding socket.

Figs. 9 and 14' show another form the protuberanceiand: socket may take without departing from the scope of our invention. Instead of making the socket in the blade in the form of a depression |3- (Fig. 13),. we may" make'it in the form of an aperture 22 through the blade (Fig. 9),.in which the protuberance 23 on the cap l2b (Fig; 14) may seat.

In Fig. 11 the caplZa is shown with itsprotuberance: 5. seated in the socket [3 of the blade 2!, and its protuberance 6 in. the socket M of. the blade 2|, and the blade in turn is shown with its-protuberances l. and 4 (see Figs; 12, 13) seated in the Sockets 7 and'8 of the guard I8a (see Figs. 4, 5). Fig. 11 is an end view of the cap, blade and guard, with the bottom. line of the end protuberance Son the cap, of the end protuberance- 4 on the blade and of theend socket 8 in the guard shown in dotted lines l5, l6- and I1, respectively.

To facilitate the entering and seating of the respective protuberances into the respective sockets, we prefer to make them with alead or taper.

It can easily beseen that any of the blades described above may be usedin a razor such as shown in Fig. 1 as conveniently asthe blade there illustrated. They may also be used in the razor illustrated in Fig. 2, with the difference that, with some: of the blades described, the clearance between the guardand the razor edge might be somewhat increased",

Of course, it can be: readily appreciated that the protuberances and sockets on the cap, blade and guard might bereversed on the various parts from the positions shown in the drawing, without going beyond the scopeof our invention.

Most of the safety razor blades are sold apart 7 from and not assembled with the rest of the guard, and a cap provided with a longitudinal ridge parallel with and near its edge; ofa blade adapted to'be heldbetween said guard and cap,

when said blade is inserted' between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap, whereby" saidcap may be held-snugly against said blade throughout its entire-width, and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted'between a plain cap and gua-rdhavingnonclearance edges tocreate a: clearancebetween theblade edge and the guard; and when* said-blad'e-is= inserted besaid blade having a longitudinal crimpparallel with and near its edge; said crimp being adapted tween a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

2. In a safety razor, the combination with a guard, and a cap provided with a tapering longitudinal ridge parallel with and near its edge; of a blade adapted to be held between said guard and cap, said blade having a tapering longitudinal crimp parallel with and near its edge; said crimp being adapted when said blade is inserted between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap, whereby said cap may be held snugly against said blade throughout its entire width and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted between a plain cap and guard having non-clearance edges to create a clearance between the blade edge and the guard, and when said blade is inserted between a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

3. In a safety razor, the combination with a guard provided with a longitudinal groove parallel with and near its edge, and a cap provided with a longitudinal ridge located opposite the groove in said guard, of a blade adapted to be held between said guard and cap, said blade having a longitudinal crimp parallel with and near its edge; said crimp being adapted when said blade is inserted between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap and enter the groove on said guard, whereby said cap may be held snugly against said blade throughout its entire width, and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted between a plain cap and guard having non-clearance edges to create a clearance between the blade edge and the guard, and when said blade is inserted between a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

4. In a safety razor, the combination with a guard provided with a tapering longitudinal groove parallel with and near its edge, and a cap provided with a longitudinal ridge located opposite the groove in said guard; of a blade adapted to be held between said guard and cap, said blade having a tapering longitudinal crimp parallel with and near its edge; said crimp being adapted when said blade is inserted between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap and enter the groove on said guard, whereby said cap may be held snugly against said blade throughout its entire width, and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted between a plain cap and guard having non-clearance edges to create a clearance between the blade edge and the guard, and when said blade is inserted between a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

5. In a safety razor, the combination with a guard, and a capprovided with a longitudinal ridge parallel with and near its edge; of a blade adapted to be held between said guard and cap, said blade being provided with central perforations, a plain central portion, and an edge portion lying in a similar surface with said central portion; and said blade, when in its unconstrained rest posture, being in the shape of an arc, the base of the are being an imaginary line drawn from edge to edge of the blade; and said blade being also provided with a longitudinal crimp parallel with and near its edge, said crimp being adapted when said blade is inserted between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap, and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted between a plain cap and guard having non-clearance edges to create a clearance between the blade edge and the guard, and when said blade is inserted between a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

6. In a safety razor, the combination with a guard, and a cap provided with a longitudinal ridge parallel with and near its edge; of a blade adapted to be held between said guard and cap, said blade being provided with central perforations, a plain central portion, and an edge portion lying in a similar surface with said central portion; and said blade, when in its unconstrained rest posture, being in the shape of an arc, and said blade having a corrugation near its end designed to strengthen it in its arched form; and said blade being also provided with a longitudinal crimp parallel with and near its edge, said crimp being adapted when said blade is inserted between said cap and guard to receive the ridge on said cap, and said crimp being also adapted when said blade is inserted between a plain cap and guard having non-clearance edges to create a clearance between the blade edge and the guard, and When said blade is inserted between a cap and guard having axial clearance to lie snugly within said clearance.

PAUL HO'I'SON. JOHN H. HOTSON. 

